刚来美国时，电视里反复播放的一些老电视连续剧成了我学英语的一个途径，结合字幕加上幽默搞笑的小故事，真是寓教娱乐，既锻炼了英语听力又对美国人的文化娱乐有一些侧面的了解。记得经常看的有：《The Golden girls》, 《I love Lucy》 和 《The Brady Bunch》 等等， 而其中 《The Brady Bunch》 是最吸引我的，大概因为它是涉及家庭关爱孩子成长的故事。
这个情景喜剧从1969年到1974年在美国广播公司播出， 一共5 季117集。它在20世纪70年代和80年代美国家庭娱乐节目中非常受欢迎。在该系列剧中，父亲Mike Brady是一个丧妻的建筑师，他有三个儿子，按年龄大小分别是Greg, Peter and Bobby（13岁到7岁），他娶了卡罗尔·马丁·布雷迪Carol Martin Brady，卡罗尔有三个女儿，按年龄大小分别是Marsha, Jan and Cindy（12岁到6岁）。这两家合二为一，家中有一名管家，爱丽丝 （Alice）。这么一个重组的庞大又复杂家庭，因着父亲的豁达开明，母亲的贤淑智慧以及管家的勤劳操持，解决了一个接一个新家庭冲突，化解了孩子成长过程中遇到的问题, 打造了一个温馨诙谐其乐融融的欢乐家庭。扮演剧中的主要9个角色的男女演员个个活泼、英俊、健康、自然又美丽，着实养眼。
随着时光流逝，40年过去了，现在有的电视台还有《The Brady Bunch》陆续播出。前一段时间，看到杂志《CELEBRITY》上刊登40年后主要演员的现状报道。看后不禁感慨万千，尤其看到英俊的男主角在他59岁时因为结肠癌及爱滋病去世 （1992年），更是令人嘘唏不已。好在其它几位主要演员平安无恙，并活出各自的精彩。
由于人懒加笔拙，我就照搬《CELEBRITY》的报道，一起分享一下这9 位主角的现况：
40 Years Later: You Will Never Believe How ‘The Brady Bunch’ Look Now?
Celebrity
| February 5, 2016 | By Lauren Boudreau
We all have fond memories of The Brady Bunch. It is time and time again considered one of the defining shows of the 70s. However, during its original run, the show never received critical acclaim or high ratings. It wasn’t until its syndication that the show became popular with children and teenagers, which led to reunion shows and spin-off movies.
It's hard to imagine the lovable cast as anything but their roles on The Brady Bunch. But that does leave one to wonder, where are they now?
SOURCE: Playbuzz.com/Deardoctor.com
Robert Reed played classic family man Mike Brady, which he is most known for. However, he is also known for work he did before the Brady’s, such as his roles in The Defenders and The Boy in the Plastic Bubble with John Travolta. After The Brady Bunch, Reed reprised the role of Mike Brady a few times and did a few smaller films before finally becoming a drama teacher at the University of California in Los Angeles. He died in 1992 at 59 from what was attributed to colon cancer. However, it was later learned that his death was hastened by AIDS. SOURCE: Playbuzz.com/Deardoctor.com
SOURCE: Playbuzz.com/Deardoctor.com
As the first woman to ever co-host The Tonight Show, Florence Henderson has done quite well for herself. Her role as matriarch Carol Brady made her famous, but after that, it was all her. In 2008 she got her own show, The Florence Henderson Show, and has had roles in The King of Queens, 30 Rock, and The Cleveland Show. SOURCE: Playbuzz.com/Deardoctor.com
SOURCE: Godvine.com
Ann B. Davis (like most of the Brady bunch) is most known for her role as Alice, the quirky, advice-giving housekeeper. She did theatre all her life before getting the acting bug in 1956. But in 1976, after The Brady Bunch ended, she quit show-biz altogether and became a born-again Christian.
SOURCE: Sitcomsonline.com/Wikipedia
After leaving her role as the down-on-her-luck middle sister Jan Brady, Eve Plumb was asked to sign another five-year contract to play the role of Jan for reunion attempts, but decided against it in order to play more dynamic roles, such as a teen prostitute in Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway. Plumb still appears on TV and in movies occaisonally, but is also a critically acclaimed painter. She currently paints from her studio in Laguna Beach, California.
SOURCE: Nydailynews.com
Unlike Eve, Mike Lookinland appeared on numerous Brady Bunch reunion specials. However, he eventually found his way behind the camera, working as a production assistant on numerous films. He credits Mike Reed, his fictional father, for influencing his passion for cameras when Reed gifted each Brady cast member with Super 8 cameras. Currently, however, he lives in Salt Lake City where he operates a business that makes decorative concrete.
SOURCE: Pinterest
After The Brady Bunch, Maureen McCormick struggled with drug addiction and body image issues. She found it difficult to shake her good-girl persona and had a tough time finding work. After marrying Michael Cummings, she did several stints at rehab and released her only CD, a collection of country songs, in 1995. She has since returned to the screen doing a variety of TV movies.
SOURCE: Pinterest
The oldest Brady boy, Barry Williams, had a few guest-starring roles on General Hospital, Three’s Company, and That ’70s Show. He also delved into musical theater touring with Grease, West Side Story, and The Sound of Music. Most recently, he had a job on Sirius Satellite Radio as a DJ spinning 70s music.
SOURCE: Photos.toofab.com
The youngest Brady daughter, Susan Olsen, took a different direction after her stint as Cindy Brady. She became a graphic designer and worked for a clothing store in Malibu, California. She also started her own company, Man in Space, where she created glow-in-the-dark Converse sneakers. She also became a popular talk show guest and eventually starred in her own talk show on KLSX Real Radio 97.1 called Ober and Olsen, with Ken Ober.
SOURCE: Bradybunch.wikia.com
Christoper Knight, like Ann B. Davis, suddenly dropped out of show-biz. He did a stint at UCLA after The Brady Bunch ended, but dropped out two years later to do more acting work. He had a sudden career change in 1988 when he decided to work with computers. He joined computer company Martec where he excelled as a sales representative. He eventually became vice president of a number of computer companies before founding his own TV turner company at Eskape Labs in 1998. More recently, however, he returned to TV as a reality star.
Haha, me too!